Closet to Office: Out of the Way, Old Coats!

If your home is anything like mine, finding extra space in the house for an office, craft room or supply area is hardly feasible… which is why I’m SO inspired by these fantastic, closet-to-office makeovers, and I hope they might bring a bit of inspiration to your home as you consider whether that art room or extra desk can fit in seamlessly!

Think of all of the great nooks & crannies in your home that could be made over. Closets, for the most part, are underutilized and poorly ordered — pulling everything out and re-alloting your closet space with the correct proportion of shelves, bins and boxes is a Saturday afternoon’s worth of work (but well worth it!). If you’re lucky enough to have an empty closet for ‘your’ space — it’s time to consider what mod wallpaper print you’ll put up, what brilliant paint color you can find and how to finish a quick DIY desk (just one giant shelf with extra supports… but we’ll talk more about that after the jump!) p

With a little assistance from Apartment Therapy and ShelterPop (image above) here’s the 1, 2, 3 of overhauling your closet.
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{Closet To Office Makeover}

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Cost: $50-$250 (depending on how fancy you get — and what you need to buy new)

Step 1: Plan & Measure

Before you begin, layout or sketch your end design. Be sure it allocates space for your most important items such as a laptop and file cabinets, as well as plenty of space for extra magazine holders, boxes, bins and the like. Don’t forget to allow plenty of wall room for bulletin or fabric boards for pictures and to-do lists.

Find out if power and internet can easily be run to the closet and make sure cords and placement are considered.There are always long ethernet cables and power strips if all else fails…

Measure your closet and determine the length, width, height and square footage, use these measurements to find a desk you can ‘build into’ the closet or to buy a custom cut board that can be mounted against three of the walls like a shelf. Now is a good time to be sure you can purchase the correctly sized shelving units (if you need to replace yours) or to determine if these need to be custom cut for mounting as well. (Before installing your desk, make sure your desk chair and filing cabinets/storage bins fit easily under.)

Step 2: Paint & Install

Sand and prime your walls — then paint your closet a vibrant, fun color that will make working in this space enjoyable! Wallpaper is always an excellent option on an accent wall (such as just the back wall). When paint is dry run wires for internet & electrical, install lighting unit as well as shelves and desk. Consider lining new or old shelves with contact paper now (check out this post for great finds!)

Step 3: Decorating & Extras

Now it’s time to map out where and how many various boxes, magazine holders, tins and bins (and so much more…) that you’ll need to carefully organize your space (and anticipate your need for growth over the years!). Get creative for purchasing, check out sites such as Etsy, eBay and your local home improvement store for deals. Paper stores always offer an excellent (and pretty!) selection.

Be sure to consider your doors here — do you want thick curtains to drape over your space, transparent fabric for a light and airy look or does your existing solid door need a touch up of its own?

Take time to organize and sort through your existing office materials to determine what stays and what goes.

Step 4: Move in!

This is the fun part! Enjoy!!

Closet office and storage space from DIY Ideas &  Oh Fransson! (you’ve gotta love that name)

Tools of the trade…

Unplggd (of Apartment Therapy) offers us this great inspiration.

And Desire to Inspire leaves us with this colorful solution!

The photos at the top of the posting belong to:

Before & after: Apartment Therapy (check out their complete How-To with wonderful step-by-step pictures)
Set of four photos, clockwise: BHG offers this super chic office in a closet, sewing closet by CasaSugar, tan and blue office from Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine, polished white closet by Sunset Magazine